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the boy asked.
    “Aye,” she assured him. “I overheard the lad saying he’ll ready the cart for the carter to get extra supplies in town. We’ll just lie quietly until he stops and then we’ll disappear into the city.”
    She climbed up and covered herself.
    A few minutes later, an older boy entered and started hitching a team to the cart.
    The woman had ingenuity, Sin would certainly give her that. And if not for the fact that he had assumed responsibility for the boy and woman, he would allow her to flee.
    But he couldn’t do that.
    The only question was, should he thwart her now or wait?
    He decided to wait. He wanted to see how far she could get on her own.
    Leaving the shadows, he quickly saddled two horses, then led them to where Simon waited outside.
    “Feel up to a bit of adventure now?” he asked Simon.
    “Always.”
    They mounted their horses, then waited until the carter entered the stable. A few minutes later, he took the cart out.
    “What are we doing?” Simon asked as they followed the cart across the castle’s bailey and into London.
    “We’re following yon wagon,” Sin answered.
    “Why?”
    “Because it is in front of us.”
    “Well, that certainly answers that. ’Twould be difficult to follow the cart if it were behind us.”
    Sin smiled. “Be patient, Simon, and you will see why we follow it.”
    The carter headed into the merchant district, which was thick with activity and people. When the carter stopped outside a small cluster of shops, Sin spied a straw-covered head peeping over the side of the wagon. Once the man disappeared from sight, the woman scrambled from the cart, with the boy one step behind.
    No one seemed to notice her peculiar activity, or if they did, they ignored it.
    She took a moment to dust the straw off them, but somehow she missed a piece that hung in the midst of one coppery curl. It bobbed as she moved.
    Simon laughed as she took the boy’s hand and led him through the crowd. “Why was she hiding?”
    “She seeks to escape royal custody.”
    The mirth faded from Simon’s eyes. “Should we notify the guards?”
    “Nay, I think we can manage to retake her.”
    “Then what are we waiting for?”
    “I have no idea. I simply like watching her maneuver.”
    From his horse, Sin could follow her easily through the crowded streets as she wended her way through the town. She kept her head lowered, with one hand on her brother the entire way. Every few steps, the boy would pause and get distracted, slowing herdown, and all the while he chattered away about everything and everyone they passed.
    No doubt she would be free if not for him.
    “Halt!”
    Sin jerked his head to see Roger of Warrington in the crowd. The knight was staring straight at the Scotswoman.
    She met Roger’s gaze over the heads of those surrounding her, then grabbed her brother’s hand and started running through the crowd in the opposite direction.
    “Halt, I say!” Roger shouted louder.
    “Oh, that’s effective,” Sin said sarcastically. “Halt or I shall say halt again.”
    Roger’s orders didn’t even slow her down, so Roger attempted to run after her, but the crowd prevented him. Sin saw the frustration on Roger’s face a moment before he shouted, “Twenty silver marks to the person who stops that woman and child!”
    Sin cursed Roger’s stupidity as every person on the street stopped what they were doing and started after the woman and boy.
    “That was unwise.” Simon voiced Sin’s thoughts with a much more polite choice of words than those in Sin’s mind.
    Sin reined in his horse as Shitan grew nervous from all the sudden activity. His warhorse had been trained to kill and the last thing he wanted was innocent blood spilled because Roger was an idiot.
    “We’ll never catch her now,” Simon said.
    “Aye, but we will.”
    Turning his horse about, Sin headed away from thecrowd and into a side street. When it came to the streets of London, he knew them well.
    Not to mention